2021-Ignition Interlock Report-Updated_V6

2021-Ignition Interlock Report-Updated_V6

IGNITION INTERLOCK REPORT

Putting an End to Drinking and Driving Attempts

This report looks at ignition interlock stops from 2006 to 2020

Released January 2022

INTRO- DUCTIO

I gnition Interlocks Stop Drunk Driving and Save Lives. MADD’s efforts are driven by victims. This report honors victims and survivors who advocate for change to eliminate impaired driving through the passage of strong ignition interlock laws. Advocacy efforts of victims and survivors have helped save lives by preventing millions of drinking and driving attempts. Ignition interlocks are effective in changing behavior and are a valuable tool for saving lives and preventing injuries on our nation’s roads. However, these devices are vastly underutilized. It is more important than ever

that states strengthen ignition interlock laws and review impediments to getting these devices on offenders’ vehicles. During the COVID-19 pandemic, drunk driving fatalities increased 9% despite fewer vehicle miles traveled, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Courts, driver’s license agencies, and policy makers must double down in supporting ignition interlocks to ensure every drunk driver utilizes these lifesaving devices before ever driving unrestricted on the road.

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From 2006 to 2020, interlocks stopped 3.78million attempts to drive drunk with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or greater, including 390,456 attempts to drive drunk in 2020.

What is an ignition interlock? It is a device about the size of smart phone that requires a driver to blow into a mouthpiece to test their blood alcohol concentration before they can start a vehicle. If the device detects an alcohol level greater than allowed by the monitoring authority, it prevents the engine from being started.

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By2006,MADDhadsuccessfullyadvocatedfor .08BAClaws and hundreds of other proven policies and countermeasures designed to reduce drunk driving fatalities and injuries. However, drunk driving was still too common, killing 13,500 people a year in 2006. Additionally, the percentage of drunk driving deaths to overall traffic deaths remained at the same level since 1995. To renew the call to stop drunk driving, in 2006 MADD launched a Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. Since then, MADD has pushed state legislatures to require the use of ignition interlocks for every apprehended drunk driver. The Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving and Ignition Interlocks

Why the Push for Interlocks for Drunk Drivers?

Even with increased penalties, drunk driving has continued to be a national public health crisis. To complement existing anti-drunk driving countermeasures such as high-visibility law enforcement activities, MADD pursued a >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14

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